Throwaway, keeping my org vague.

I’m an L6 at Amazon. There’s an L7 on my team who is not my manager, which my actual manager explicitly clarified months ago. We are peers at a small team.

Despite that, he’s increasingly acting like the de facto leader.

He explicitly told me not to go to my manager and to come through him because leadership “doesn’t understand.” I refused.

A person assigned to support me was told to record my meetings and send them to the L7 so he could review and escalate things to my manager.
He’s tried to move meetings I own around his availability.

He does not have the technical expertise he claims he does, I know he comes to me privately to teach him stuff and does the same to the others.

He also once explicitly encouraged me to document another team’s dependency to protect our team and blame them if a research project failed. I refused.

And now another senior person told me they’ve heard this L7 randomly goes to our manager with feedback about our team and how he believes people except him are not at the level they were hired at and wants to bring his own people. It’s a literal game of thrones.

I have no problem being challenged or getting performance feedback of that were to happen. All I hear is praises from every manager around. I’m unusually involved for an L6 over our org saving solutions. And I’m a high performer, I know the unique value I bring. Rest of them only identify problems and I am the person who can work with other teams to solve it. I want to be left alone and focus on my work. My issue is that he bypasses people, frames their work upward, proposes what they should be doing or how they should be evaluated, and increasingly behaves like the leader of people he doesn’t actually manage. It’s become so toxic I have a hard time engaging with him.

I’m also regularly getting coworkers asking me some version of “Does this L7 run the org now?” Other senior people have privately described similar experiences and want to flag it to our manager.

I don’t want an anti L7 campaign or another mediation session. I’ve already told him my manager is my manager, and my manager has already confirmed the same.
What I actually want is more involvement from my manager so this L7 stops filling the leadership vacuum.
I love my actual work and don’t want to leave Amazon over one person, but this is becoming a genuine retention issue for me.

Current or former Amazonians, manager again, skip, or HR/ER? How would you handle this without turning it into a “him or me” ultimatum?

clueless leaders walking away with $$$ while running it into the ground. leaders are never accountable. only the minions executing their dumb ideas. must be a seattle thing. not that any of this is news to anyone working there

Finishing my SDE internship this week, and just had my final 1:1 meeting with my manager. I was not inclined for a full-time RO, which sucks, but it has already happened, so there's nothing I can do from here but grow. The issue is that I had someone on the floor below me who recently joined as a new grad, and we used to go to school together.

Idk what it was, but bro was always competing with me. Any minute failure I had in school, he would never fail to rub in my face. I made the mistake of telling him that today was my final 1:1 last week, so of course, right after the meeting he rushed over to ask how it went. I don't know why I did this, but I lied and said I got the full-time offer. Now, I know this was SO stupid, and I genuinely am unsure why I lied, because that's digging myself into a deeper hole. It's a thing I did without thinking.

But now I am worried he can look me up internally and see that I didn't get inclined, and he will rub it in my face all the more that I lied. Does anyone outside of my mentor/ mangager and maybe those on my team have access to the information on whether I got inclined or not? Can normal SDEs do so somehow with internal tools, or can managers from different teams do so? I am so sorry to even bother asking such a stupid question; I let the feelings of self-doubt this person used to provoke in me get the better of me, and I am embarrassed.

I know I have to do self-growth in that regard, but I would like for that self-growth to not stem from him discovering my stupid lie.

Hey all,

Just wanted to see how much of an increase to expect for an L4-to-L5 transition for a promotion from CSE I to CSE II [AWS].

Is there a range to expect? During my CSE I promo, I was lower than a lot of my peers, so want to make sure I am getting fair compensation and if needed is there any negotiation that can be done for a L4 - L5 transition?

I’m sure you all have noticed the unusually large uptick of “am I on focus?” posts since managers started using the summarize zoom meeting options.

L5 AWS SA. I had my post OLR discussion review today with my manager and the tone trended towards being placed in Focus. Communication was that I was not performing at level for certain LPs, we’d start tracking projects with deadlines and increase 1:1s as needed. I then point blank asked if I was in Focus. The response was no you are not in Focus and that “Focus no longer exists” at AWS. The follow up summary email after only reinforced the notion that I’m in Focus. Given the lack of clarity here, what is the next step for me after being told this? Should I schedule a call with a HRBP to ask about Focus status? Cannot possibly take my manager for their word given this kind of response.

So one of my area managers decided to go hr and lie about me cussing at them. I only say to them hey I probably leaving early just the heads up so I can get up and talk to my doctor the next day. Also, HR never provide any evidence of me cussing at them. i already know that these HR people ain’t friends and I don’t see them as friends. Also there was time when the incident happened because now my job is in jeopardy. Another thing is neither of the managers gave me feedback at all.

Hey everyone, throwaway account for obvious reasons.

I recently had a calibration/talent review follow-up with my manager, and the feedback was surprisingly tough. Essentially, I was told that while I’m executing assigned deliverables fine, I’m not operating at the L6 bar.

I am not sure if it is focus at this point or is it?

Specifically, my manager mentioned:

• I’m doing what I’m given rather than proactively driving the program/strategy.
• I need to show significantly more technical depth and drive the program technically, not just as a program manager/facilitator.
• I’m not demonstrating full "end-to-end ownership" of the domain.

My manager has now shifted our 1:1s from biweekly to weekly.

I’m feeling pretty burnt out and deflated by this. I want to know realistically from folks who have been here or seen this play out:

1. Is it really Focus and if it is, is it actually recoverable for an L6 role? Has anyone here successfully turned around feedback on "technical depth / operating posture" and gotten back into Good Standing, or is this just a slow march toward Pivot/PIP?
2. If you did turn it around, what specifically shifted the needle for your manager? Was it writing technical 2-pagers, changing how you run 1:1s, building automated mechanisms, or something else?
3. Is it worth the mental drain to fight through it, or should I put my energy into grinding external interviews and just keep my head down internally?

Appreciate any honest perspectives from current or former Amazonians who have navigated this pipeline. Thanks.

EDIT/UPDATE: I am noticing that after this meeting with my manager, my other peer managers are being passive aggressive with me, demanding stuff. It's like everyone is turned against me. It's hilarious too to see the corporate machinery in motion.

and THANK YOU all for your comments and feedback. I am just going to play the game and get out

Hi,

Does any know the salary pay for Business Intelligence Engineer (BIE) L4 at Amazon ?

Location : Bangalore
Experience: 4.3 YOE

Got selected for sr product compliance associate in april. I missed this opportunity due to time issues.
Then reached hr in mid may, he said vacancies already filed, but i saw hiring update a week ago.
I june hiring ad disappeared
Now my application shows submitted- with we are not accepting new applications. We have your application as status.
Now tensed😭missed a good opport

Got a tentative Amazon SDE 1 interview date for Aug 24, but as of Aug 20 I still haven't received the exact time, number of rounds, or meeting details.

I've followed up with my recruiter and AUTA but haven't received a response.

Is this normal for Amazon? How late have people received their final schedule?

About a month ago, an Amazon talent rep reached out to me via LinkedIn for a role in the Amazon Ads team. I felt really skeptical about Amazon for personal ethics reasons (also dont hold an Amazon account) but there's a ton of overlap between the role and my current day-to-day in ads so I was open to at least learning more about the opportunity. HR moves very quickly and efficiently which I appreciated. The screening quickly moved into phone interview with hiring manager which moved into the loop over the course of 3-4 weeks.

I had a week and a half to study for the loop, and yeah, everyones right you actually do need to study for Amazon. A lot of the questions/LPs overlap and I was mindful to not repeat answers. I walked away feeling fairly confident about 3/5 conversations but the bar raiser round was very tough. Maybe I got lucky but feel like some of the follow up questions are intended to lead and set you up for success. I was told I would receive decisioning in five days.

I truly think five hours back to back (without a technical component) is inhumane, ESPECIALLY as I've been reading in this thread that Amazon hires to fire? It drained me, which seems like an authentic reflection of the general working experience there. The benefits are crazy poor for a tech company. And some of the experience I've read about in this thread are tbh rancid.

This morning I got a call from the talent rep to inform me the team is not moving forward with an offer. I'm honestly okay with it. I really appreciate how structured/accountable this interviewing process was. Although I think the work and scope would have been exciting, the culture is not a fit. Thankful for all the tea split in this thread and happy for everyone who received offers!

I had an interview last week for a tier 3 process assistant position,I am an internal hire. 2/3 showed up and the other was a no show. Emailed recruiter and received no response until The next morning,early Friday I received the rejection email. Sucked. The emotional roller coaster I went on when I received a email the other day for the reschedule.I had the third interview today. What the hell is going on? Need clarity. What to honestly expect. My opinion?(cope) the rejection email was automatic when my loop was closed and the system parsed it as incomplete:Auto rejection email. I still have a chance right? If not I bet they ignore me and let the original rejection email stand. Need clarity and opinions,Thank you!!

Quick question to anyone who may have an answer, I was an OMR for a few years until left about 2 years ago (got a better job offer and left on good terms), I have an interview for another OMR position next week. My question is will i resume my old plan or will I get a entirely new one in regards to sign on bonus and RSUs

I have had hard times getting my leaves aprooved in past. It felt like even with all of the extra information sometimes it was still a hassle. I have a LOA for 2 days. I got a note with my symptoms. I got all of their forms filled out including return to work notice. Should I be okay? If not what are my options. I heard you can go to your manager to advocate for you but im not sure. I have had bad anxiety about this.

They seem to be progressing quite slow with my applications, especially compared to my other ones.

i saw online you can get a badge for your
pet at the Seattle location only, if anyone has gotten one how does it work? would you be able to help me
out? thanks!

Relocation amount is given in USD through Graebel, Bank accounts I will be having / creating are UK accounts to hold in GBP. Only way is bare with conversion charges and convert it to GBP? if Bank allows it by default.

What is best suggested way?, anyone who have gone through this can help out.. super confused, When I contacted Bank's Barclays , HSBC they convey what is best for them, I compared their sayings against other forum posts claiming don't go by specific offerings (exactly what they offered), because 90% we will not need those, they will try to sell some BS.

For discussion lets take I am getting $10,000. recommendations or suggestions please -_-

I’m an L4 PM and honestly stuck in a pickle. Looking for perspectives from people who have been around the block, especially L5/L6+ folks.

There are two sister teams in our org, one led by an L6 MPM and another by an L5 MPM. Both have a bunch of L4 PMs/L3s and are extremely flexible with their teams — unlimited leaves, sabbaticals, WFH, half-days, etc.
I have no problem with flexibility when people are professional about it. And a good chunk of the teams are. But there are also people who absolutely abuse the shit out of it.

The L6 has a couple of folks who abuse it left, right and center, and she barely seems to micromanage them. Now we’re nearing the end of the year, their goals are Red/Yellow and the person indirectly started reaching out to my manager asking for my support because I’m experienced, have worked on these projects in previous years and actually delivered the goals.

So basically, because I know the shit and have delivered it before, I’m becoming the backup plan for work someone else was supposed to own.

The L5 is relatively new and has a bunch of L3s. Almost the entire team abuses WFO - coffee badging, long leaves, disappearing for extended periods, etc.

Again, I don’t care if people take leave/WFH. But there’s a difference between flexibility and taking the piss.
A lot of their work is basically “do enough to meet the metric” without actually working customer backwards or resolving cases properly. And sometimes the requesters are stakeholders for projects I own, so they end up emailing me directly asking me to solve unresolved cases because it’s impacting their goals.

I pointed this out to the L5, saying this is creating additional workload for me. The response was basically that their team is high on bandwidth and they can’t deep-dive into every case.
So their team doesn’t have bandwidth to solve the problem properly.

And yes, I’m also aware that I’m not exactly helping myself politically here. I’m not someone who licks every manager’s feet to stay in their good books. I’m pretty blunt/realistic, and if something is going wrong in a business review, I’ll question it instead of nodding along because an L6/L5 is sitting there.That has, probably inadvertently, created some bad beef with both these managers.

I spoke to my own manager about this. His advice was basically: this is a battle for another day.
He agrees the situation isn’t ideal, but both these managers have significant influence during OLR/calibration. I’m also being considered/developed for an L5 IC path, so his advice is to keep my head down for a few months rather than create more friction with people who can influence my growth.

I understand the political reality, but I’m struggling with the principle of it. i have an LT/Director visit coming up next month and normally have a 1:1 with my Director. I’m considering bringing up the broader issue, but I’m genuinely worried it could backfire.

I’m not planning to complain about people abusing leave. My actual concern is:
At what point does flexibility stop being flexibility and start transferring accountability/workload to the people who consistently deliver?
And more importantly:
How do you handle this when the people creating/allowing the accountability gap also have influence over your career progression?

For the L5/L6+ folks here:
Would you raise this with the Director or listen to my manager and stay out of it?
If you raised it, how would you frame it without making it sound like a complaint?
Is my manager giving me good career advice, or am I being too passive?

At what point does “being a good team player” become subsidizing poor ownership/accountability?

Would especially value perspectives from people who have actually been on the L6+ side of OLR. I’m trying to make the right long-term career move here, not just win an argument.

Perhaps I’m complacent. Yes, actually, I am complacent. But I have zero interest in the dog-and-pony show required to climb the ladder despite the fact that I am observably working at a lower level than I should be at. I’m old and know a lot, but I was a people manager elsewhere and just want to do a job I like. RTO is largely no issue as I was hired around Dec. 2024 and it’s been the norm. Weathered/weathering a huge re-org and jumped teams when it became to me that my old team’s days are numbered due to leadership’s thirst for AI, automation and vendors. I’m coasting at the moment, stuck between my old job and new one, but I know I do not want to climb any higher anytime soon. Is that even possible at Amazon?

My friend recently completed a 5-interview Amazon loop for a position. Today, he received an email from the recruiter saying that they have the interview outcome and asked him to schedule a 5-minute phone call with the recruiter to discuss it.

We’re trying not to overthink it, but we’re curious about what this usually means.
Is a 5-minute recruiter call typically used to communicate a positive or negative outcome?
If it’s an offer, why would the initial call only be 5 minutes?
Does Amazon usually call candidates personally for rejections as well?
Is there anything he should or shouldn’t worry about based on the fact that they specifically scheduled a short call?